Jeroen Jongeleen Fountain Maashaven (2022)

The artwork will be on February 13, 2022 Fountain Maashaven by visual artist Jeroen Jongeleen unveiled. The work was created during Maashaven Palace Studio, a temporary manifestation of Sculpture International Rotterdam (SIR) that took place from 20 January to 20 February in the area between Maashaven metro station and Het Gemaal op Zuid. SIR asked the artist to intervene in this area, on the border between Charlois and Feijenoord. Jongeleen found it a difficult question because of the area development and advancing gentrification. In these kinds of tendencies, art is often instrumentalized in a way that does not benefit the residents, the artist believes, on the contrary. In a corner of the water, Jongeleen discovered a water outlet that causes water to bubble up or spray up at unknown moments. He decided to designate this 'objet trouvé' as a fountain. An absurd and unpredictable fountain, rather a 'punk version', which is at odds with the neatly designed design drawings for the park that is planned in the Maashaven. The fountain is an ode to the frayed edges and crumple zones of the city, which tries not to pretend to be better than it is. Moreover, this work of art cannot be encapsulated in city marketing, in which art likes to be used as hip or street art. Fountain Maashaven is included in the collection of Sculpture International Rotterdam.